ShapeShift Vs Changelly – Best Cryptocurrency Exchange Conversion?

When the smartest traders on the market seek an exchange, they don't seek exchanges dealing in fiat-to-crypto/crypto-to-fiat, they seek exchanges which offer the best crypto-to-crypto exchange and they want the exchange to be processed instantly for a low fee and with as much privacy as possible.

The two best candidates who tick all the boxes are Changelly and Shapeshift. But who is the best? Let's collate the features offered by both exchanges and find out.

Changelly

Founded in 2013 by the team of MinerGate, a bitcoin mining pool, and headquarted in Prague, Czech Republic, Changelly was developed in 2014 as an independent exchange service. Changelly acts as a conduit between various trading platforms such as Poloniex, Bittrex and HitBTC. Changelly boasts up to 3 million users per month.

You will need a valid e-mail address to create an account. There is no deposit storage and accounts are protected with 2FA. Changelly accepts two fiat currencies, USD and EUR, although there is an initial limit of $50 to $100 for using bank cards. Changelly supports 85 cryptocurrencies including Ethereum, Ripple, Monero, Litecoin, NXT and even the much-maligned Bitcoin Gold!

Changelly has no withdrawal fees or commissions but only a reasonable fee of 0.5%, for which the value in the cryptocurrency is readily displayed. As you enter the amount of coins, the fees are shown to you and there are no further hidden fees. Exchanging from/to fiat may entail a higher fee. The interface is sleek yet simple, all you have to do is enter the amount of coins and your wallet address. The exchange is usually processed within minutes. Transactions of large value may take longer to process. Changelly team's anonymity may be a concern for some users but the exchange has a proven track record of being trustworthy.

There are several users on various online review platforms such has trustpilot who have complained about high exchange rates, hidden fees and delayed transactions but these issues seem sporadic and some users may have tried to exchange from/to fiat which Changelly clearly states would be processed at higher fees. It is evident that all exchanges between cryptocurrencies are processed at a flat rate of 0.5%. There has also been a concern if Changelly asks some users to verify their identity but Changelly claims that no personal information is collected or asked of the platform's users.

ShapeShift

Founded in 2013 by Erik Voorhees and headquartered in Switzerland, ShapeShift received $0.5 million in seed-stage funding in March 2015 and a further $1.6 million in September 2015 from investors such as Digital Currency Group, Bitfinex, Bitcoin Capital and Mardal Investments. The initial release was on iOS platform in June 2015, allowing users to swap 25 cryptocurrencies and tokens, increasing to support 40 cryptocurrencies in September that year. In early 2015, ShapeShift experienced a theft of assets and multiple hacking attempts on the platform.

In the past, there have been some concerns whether ShapeShift indeed collects personal user data as their privacy policy seemed to be somewhat self-contradictory. Although the company “requests as little information as possible in order to enable blockchain asset exchange. To exchange cryptocurrencies with ShapeShift you do not need to give us any personal data like your name, your location or your email address. You just send funds to a specific address which serves as both an order and a receipt.” However, the company has also said that “all the information we do have, as a platform, we make transparent. We do not obscure any information. Thus, given reasonable requests, for information whether from law enforcement agencies or private [parties], the company provides the information we do have.”

ShapeShift requires absolutely no personal information from the user, none at all. You don't even need an account to use ShapeShift. You simple choose the coin or token to exchange and receive, enter your receiving address and send your coins. Smaller value transactions are usually processed without confirmations on the blockchain but higher value transactions require 1 confirmation. The exchange value shown is what the user receives, minus the miner's fee. ShapeShift claims that there is no fee at all except for miner's fee. However, there have been several complaints from users on trust pilot of long transaction times and high fees. User opinions should always be taken with a grain of salt. If you want to find out about something, go forth and explore for yourself.

There Are Two Exchange Options – Quick And Precise

Quick transactions refer to an exchange type where the user does not need to specify the amount they want to receive and they can deposit whatever they would like, as long as it is between the deposit limit (max) or minimum.

Precise transactions refer to an exchange type where the user specifies how much they are wanting to deposit/receive BEFORE we provide you with a deposit address. You can get a better rate with this type of exchange AND a higher deposit max. This exchange has a ten minute timer. Once the timer expires, the rate expires.

Users do not have to create accounts, deposit funds, or provide private personal information. This keeps the users safe from identity or financial theft – a critical improvement in exchange technology. The company has a strict “No Fiat” policy, meaning it does not use banks or political currencies anywhere in its operations.

Both Changelly and ShapeShift offer a number of API tools for developers.

ShapeShift Vs Changelly Verdict

Which is the better one of the two? It's a matter of opinion. Changelly gives you an fee estimate based on input value which may change by the time the request in processed. Shapeshift gives you the exact amount which is locked in. ShapeShift is, on the face of it, more anonymous.

Both exchanges offer exceptional ease of service and very reasonable rates. There is no clear winner. It's a lot like the Ronaldo vs Messi question, a matter of opinion. I would personally plump for ShapeShift as Exodus is one of the wallets I use which has a built-in ShapeShift feature.

B.E.G. Editorial Team is a gracious group of giving cryptocurrency advocates and blockchain believers who want to ensure we do our part in spreading digital currency awareness and adoption. We are a team of over forty individuals all working as a collective whole to produce around the clock daily news, reviews and insights regarding all major coin updates, token announcements and new releases. Follow us on Twitter, Join us in Telegram. Stay tuned. #buymorebitcoin

2 COMMENTS

Don’t try if you don’t want to lose money. I used it to buy xrp, my transaction with indacoin is completed but the transaction in changelly is still waiting for payment. When I ask for support, they asked me to contact the indacoin site.